I would not join issues with EFCC - Okorocha reacts to probe of his govt

- Governor Rochas Okorocha has hit back at the EFCC over alleged probe of his government

- Okorocha argued that despite EFCC’s blockage of Imo state funds to the tune of N7.9 billion, he did not owe salaries

- According to the governor, those behind his Certificate of Return drama have not gone to sleep but have continued to spread their tentacles

Rochas Okorocha, the Imo state governor, has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of not providing information on how it arrived at the conclusion that he wanted to withdraw money for vote-buying during the last general election.

Vanguard reports that the governor on Tuesday, May 21, urged the acting chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, to keep fifth columnists within the agency at arm’s length.

Legit.ng gathered that speaking on the EFCC probe in Owerri, Okorocha, through his chief press secretary, Sam Onwuemedo, argued that despite EFCC’s blockage of Imo state funds to the tune of N7.9 billion, he did not owe salaries.

He said part of his prayers is that the EFCC should not allow infiltrators into its activities, adding that he understood that Magu never accused him of mismanagement of funds.

According to the release, “On Monday, May 20, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Alhaji Ibrahim Magu was quoted to have told journalists in London that the commission was investigating Governor Rochas Okorocha over the bailout fund.

“Also on Friday, May 17, the commission’s zonal head for southeast, Usman Imam held a briefing in Enugu, where he also told the world that the commission was investigating Governor Okorocha.

“These press conferences raise a genuine concern and have also added fillip to the governor’s earlier worry that those behind the drama over his Certificate of Return have not gone to sleep but have continued to spread their dragnets or tentacles.

Okorocha said he would not join issues with the EFCC as an institution and with Magu as an individual, adding that investigating individuals, governments and institutions are part of the commission’s rules of engagement.

He said he could only pray that the commission should not allow undue infiltration, adding that out of the N8 billion quoted, it also confirmed that N7.9 billion is what they blocked.

"Then, what is Owelle’s case? And the governor does not owe salary. Imam also threw a kite which could not fly when he told his audience that if not for their timely intervention, N5 billion would have allegedly been deployed in vote buying by Okorocha’s administration.

“Alhaji Magu is doing a good job as the head of the EFCC but he should keep the fifth columnists at arm’s length. He should not eat with them even with the longest spoon.

"With more than one thousand landmark and verifiable projects to his credit, Governor Okorocha must have managed the resources of the state in his time as governor with a high sense of prudence," he added.